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The CEO of Chanel recalls her days as a young merchant, when she was taken to task by a powerful executive for not listening. Twenty years later, his words still profoundly affect the way she thinks about her company’s products and interacts with customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

Early in my career, I worked at the Gap as a merchant in women’s denim. I worked with designers to choose styles for the stores, with planners to determine how much inventory to buy, and with a sourcing team to manage production. A year into this job, I came up with what I thought was a terrific style: a stovepipe jean, with a wider leg, in a great new wash. Both research and instinct told me the product could be huge. So when our CEO—Mickey Drexler, who now runs J. Crew—called one day from a conference room and asked if I could come present to him and the head of marketing, I felt ready and pretty proud.

The marketing chief loved the samples and immediately started talking excitedly about an approach to advertising. But Mickey was not so sure. “Why wouldn’t we use that same wash,” he asked, “with Classic Fit jeans instead?”

Now, I was a very confident young merchant: I knew what was happening, what was cool, and what should and shouldn’t be in the store. And instead of acquiescing, I began to argue my agenda, offering all kinds of reasons why that wash and style belonged together. Mickey kept asking questions, getting louder and progressively angrier. Finally I shut up and slunk back to my office, depressed, wondering if I’d lost my job for talking back to one of the most prominent retail executives in the country. A few minutes afterward, however, he called. “Maureen!” he bellowed, “I’m going to give you some important advice. You’re a terrific merchant. But you’ve gotta learn to listen!”

Of course, Mickey was right about using the wash with the Classic Fit style, and we successfully launched those jeans. And 20 years later, his words continue to have a profound effect on how I think about my company’s products and interact with its employees, customers, and other stakeholders. In retail—as well as in other industries—you’ve got to have a strong point of view and present it effectively. But to lead effectively and achieve real business results as the head of any enterprise, you have to listen. You’ve got to constantly ask questions and seek out diverse opinions, and remain humble enough to change your mind—whether about a product or a person.

Whenever I’m in a Chanel boutique, I ask the store employees what’s selling, how consumers are responding, and what we should be doing differently. Their frontline observations help me refine my own thoughts about the business—and sometimes change my mind outright about a piece of merchandise or even a big strategy. Back in the office, I spend about 75% of my time listening to my direct reports’ insights, and I make regular dates with our partners around the world to hear their perspectives, too. I’m always seeking information from as many varied sources as possible: I’ll check YouTube, for example, just to see what people are watching. I keep my ears open and my eyes peeled for new trends in culture, the arts, film, theater, and the like.

Listening has its drawbacks because sometimes you realize that people are just telling you what they want you to hear. Yet, ultimately, what’s good for this business—surrounding myself with talented teams and relying on their expertise—is good for me personally, too. If I hadn’t taken Mickey’s advice, put a piece of tape over my mouth, and really listened to people when I got to Chanel, I wouldn’t have been successful for very long.

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